The Missing Piece
by Marlotte
Summary: What if there was a fourth piece of the Triforce? After all, why is the center empty? A strong power was stolen long ago, and now it is up to Link to help retrieve it. Follow him on his adventures in Hyrule and a world different from his own where he is mistaken for a cosplayer and meet new characters along the way.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, Marlotte here. This is our first fanfiction so we accept all types of criticism. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

The little boy ran happily across Ordon Village. He ran down the hill, passing the shop that sold the slingshot that he wanted to get so badly. He slowed down and finally stopped at the side of the river, trying to catch his breath. Hide and seek was a tiring game, but he never wanted to stop. Even though it was tiring, it also required a lot of concentration and attention, as his friends were very good at this game. They knew the village like they had lived there for centuries, yet everyday they would find a new hiding spot.

He knew he had to catch his breath quickly, as he had no time to lose. He needed to find the best hiding spot possible if he wanted to win. He looked around, but a splash in the water caught his attention. He faced down towards the river and was shocked by his reflection. His once clean shirt was now covered in mud and ripped on the sides and his bermudas were in a similar condition. He passed his hand through his messy dark blond hair and he sighed; he would have to clean himself before dinner with Ilia's family. His piercing blue eyes looked around, still searching for a suitable hiding spot, but a sudden pain in his right hand caused him to fall to the ground.

"Link! We found you! You weren't even hiding!" The group of boys looked down at the little boy and laughed as they approached him, until they realized that he was in pain. "What's wrong?"

The boy lifted up his shaking arm, moving it forward so that he could see it better. This had happened to him before, but this time the pain was much stronger. His eyes widened as something unexpected happened. The triangular shape on his hand that he had been born with was glowing brightly. In the middle of the glowing triangle, a shape that looked like an upside down triangle was slowly fading away, until it disappeared completely. All that remained on his right hand were three triangles, with the bottom right one glowing brighter than the others. The pain suddenly stopped, leaving the little boy lying on the ground, scared and confused.

...

The sky was dark and I knew I shouldn't be outside the Goddess's temple at night. Nayru, Din and Farore must be waiting for me, but I just wanted a quick wander through Hyrule Field, as it had been so long since I had even placed a foot in Hyrule. "Only five more minutes…" I thought. I was surrounded by complete silence and I was glad to finally have a moment to myself. Being a goddess wasn't a simple task, and a quiet moment to myself was exactly what I needed. A distant sound interrupted my thoughts, but I didn't pay attention to it; it was probably just an animal running through the bushes. I walked along the rocky cliffs to the side of Hyrule Field, and in the distance I could just make out the shape of the Hyrule Castle. The sound I had heard was coming closer, as if something was following me, but I convinced myself that it was just my imagination. After all, I had always been the most anxious goddess of the four of us. I walked on and as I saw the bridge to the castle entrance, I realized that I had gone too far. I remembered that I had to go back to the Goddess's temple, or Nayru, Din and Farore would not be happy with me. I turned around to walk back to the temple but I immediately stopped: a group of weird creatures that looked like bulls were charging towards me. I instantly recognized the people riding the bulls: it was Kirnon and his army from the Darkness. Before I could react, I felt arms close in around me, pulling me back into the darkness of the night. I tried to fight back, trying to reach my knife that was attached to my waist, but something was stopping me. I looked at my arms and legs and noticed that I was held back by dark ropes. I tried to break them with my power, disintegrating them like I used to do with the more powerful enemies who tried to kidnap me, but nothing happened. What was going on? Why couldn't I use my power? Was it because of the ropes, were they magical?

"Well, well, look what we have here. A beautiful goddess with her piece of the Triforce ready to be used." My heart stopped. What did Kirnon mean? How was he going to get my piece of the triforce? Before I could even say something, I felt his nails dig through my flesh. I felt it. As he pulled his hand back, I felt a part of me being grasped out. The pain became unbearable and my vision started to blur. I tried to call for help with all my remaining strength, but no sound came out from my mouth.

"ZILIA…!"

Everything became black.

It took Link a few seconds to understand what was happening in front of him. The last thing he remembered was his friends calling his name and the constant pain in his left hand, which was strangely gone. The fact that he was in a white room with perfect strangers in front of him didn't make a lot of sense to him.

Huh, maybe he had sniffed that weird flower again… Last time, it had made him very sick for three days straight and had given him weird dreams.

As he took a closer look, he noticed three elegant ladies standing in a semi-circle at the end of a comfortable-looking bed. He had never seen something so white and clean before; he was not very good at laundry but never wanted to give Ilia's mum another thing to worry about.

After all, taking care of an orphan was enough work for her.

A sob caught his attention again, and he guessed that it was coming from the lady in green. Her hairstyle was unique, with two green buns on both sides of her head. Her tear-filled eyes were a combination of amazing shades of green. Next to her was a strong figure, completely dressed in red. She was nervously playing with her long red hair, and her eyes were intensely staring at the bed in front of her. The last lady was composed and calm compared to the other two. Her long blue locks fell elegantly on her pale shoulders, touching her light blue dress. Her eyes were closed, as if she was thinking about something important or meditating.

"Uhmm…" Link timidly tried to get their attention, but no sound seemed to come out of his mouth. He tried again, this time almost shouting and desperately trying to make them look at him, but still nothing. His hands naturally reached up to feel his neck, afraid that something had happened to his throat, but everything seemed normal. With all attempts to speak having failed, he slowly approached them, hoping that they would finally react.

Suddenly, the red-haired lady spoke, revealing her harsh tone. "Stop crying Farore". She looked at the green-haired lady, and then back at the bed. "Maybe she can still hear you."

'She'? Who was the lady talking about? Link's eyes quickly wandered around the room, and only then did he notice a thin figure lying on the bed. Her skin was sickly pale, almost the same colour as the covers. The only thing that seemed to stand out was her long black hair which seemed to reach her hips. Her prominent cheekbones and the dark circles under her eyes indicated that she wasn't well.

Farore turned so that she was facing the red-haired girl, wiping her tears away. "I'm not afraid to show my emotions, Din. And I'm sure that I'm not the only one feeling this way." She instantly turned towards the blue-haired girl, hoping for her support.

Instead, the lady remained quiet, with her eyes still shut.

Din snickered, making fun of her friend. "You shouldn't expect an answer from Nayru; you know it's impossible to get her attention while she's thinking of something significant to her."

At that moment, Nayru spoke up, surprising both the ladies and Link, who had stayed still ever since he had noticed the pale figure on the bed. "You two shouldn't be arguing in such a situation. If anything, you should be trying to help Zilia."

Farore and Din looked down, deeply ashamed of themselves. To Link, Nayru seemed to be the leader of the group, so he decided to try to approach her first, in the hopes that he could help him understand what was happening and why he was here.

He got closer, but she still didn't notice him, so he opted for physical contact instead. He was about to touch her shoulder, when a cold shiver ran down his spine, blocking his movement. He felt something looking straight at him, and decided to turn around and face whoever made him feel that uncomfortable. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of the pale figure sitting up in the bed with two bloody eyes staring right at him. Her lips trembled as if she was struggling to say something. A bloody tear ran down her cheek reaching her pale blue lips.

"Help me…"

Link abruptly opened his eyes and tried desperately to catch his breath, as he lay on an unfamiliar bed. He slowly regained feeling in his body, realizing that he had been shivering and sweating like he had never done in his life.

"Link, you are awake! Is everything okay?" a familiar voice said.

He violently turned his head towards the source of the voice, now facing the concerned look of Ilia's mum. Her blonde hair was the same as normal, short and curly kept in a lazy side ponytail. She was wearing a blue tunic with a green cardigan. She came closer to Link, holding a fresh cloth and a glass of water in her hands. Link looked at her, still feeling scared and confused, and tried to grab the glass of water from her hand. He had so many questions for her, but his breath was too shaky to talk. Ilia's mother handed him the glass and placed the damp cloth on his forehead, hoping to calm the fever. The boy quickly gulped down all the liquid, managing to calm himself down a little, while the lady gently caressed his arm. His bright blue eyes looked at her questioningly.

She sighed "You always know how to make me worried, don't you?"

Link answered by smiling guiltily, even though he didn't know what he had done this time.

"W-what exactly happened…?" his voice sounded rough.

"You don't remember anything?"

He shook his head.

"Well, yesterday afternoon, you collapsed while playing hide and seek, and Colin's dad brought you here because you were unconscious. You slept through the whole night without interruption but you kept shivering and crying like you were having a bad dream. You made Ilia and I very worried you know! She stayed up looking after you, so I just sent her to sleep."

Link narrowed his eyes, realizing how much trouble he had caused. He felt so miserable and he wondered what could have made him so sick suddenly. He looked down at the ground and managed to whisper "…sorry".

"Oh stop it, you know that you are my son, and I would do anything for you."

The little boy smiled; despite the fact that he knew what she had said was not entirely true.

He would never be her real son.

...

After that day, things changed.

The dreams became frequent, guiding him towards his destiny.

There were always four ladies, three of them standing around a bed, the other one lying on it, looking worse and worse every time he saw her. At the start, he remained unnoticed as if he was invisible to them. He had learnt that it was no use trying to get their attention, so he just stayed in a corner waiting for the dream to end. However, one night, the green-haired figure, Farore, seemed to notice him. From that day on, she would give him advice and tell him what to do and where to go.

His adventures led him through time and darkness.

He had often wondered if he was crazy, but never stopped fighting for the dreams that encouraged him.

In the end, his adventures paid off.

He was the Hero of Hyrule, the chosen one.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Thank you for all the amazing support and favourites. We never expected so many people to read it! To the person who told us that our fanfic was pointless because 'tri' force means only three pieces, we were planning on explaining this in a later chapter, but we are going to explain it sooner to clarify any of your doubts. We hope you enjoy this chapter and we promise to keep writing as long as we can. Sorry if this chapter is really short, but we felt like we had to update this story even if the chapter wasn't complete… (Remember, do not sniff the 'weird flower', Link doesn't want you to get sick!) :)

Nayru was walking through Zilia's garden. It was once filled with colourful flowers and trees, but the beautiful colours were now slowly fading away. It was no surprise to her: as the goddess of Wisdom, she knew exactly what was happening. Zilia was dying, and so was her once wonderful garden. She sat down on a bench in the middle of the roses, feeling the wind against her cheek. Looking around, she remembered the long days spent in this garden with Zilia, Din and Farore. She really missed Zilia, being able to talk for hours and hours about what was going on in Hyrule. Now that she was being kept safe inside the Deku tree, far away from any evil, they couldn't talk or spend any time together: she would be too weak to even have a conversation with them as she didn't have the power of her piece of the Triforce. Nayru stood up and started walking towards the fountain in the middle of the garden, but she was suddenly interrupted by voices. She turned around and saw Farore and Din walking towards her.

"Farore and I have been looking for you!" said Din in her usual strong voice. She was wearing a beautiful red dress that was flowing in the wind as she walked towards Nayru.

"Is everything alright?" Farore asked. She was wearing a similar dress to Din, but hers was green.

"Yes, everything is alright. I was just thinking of Zilia and the great times we all spent in this garden." said Nayru, looking around. Farore and Din could tell she was sad. Her eyes were shining in the sunlight, and a tear ran down her face.

"What happened to Zilia is unacceptable. We need her piece of the Triforce to be returned to the Sacred Temple soon, or she will…" Din paused and looked down.

"Or she will die." said Farore, closing her eyes, as if trying to erase that thought from her mind. When she opened them again, she saw Nayru and Din staring at her with an uncomfortable look.

"What? I'm simply telling the truth!" Despite what she said, the other goddesses were still looking at her.

"I'm not afraid of the truth. Zilia is dying, let's face it."

"We have to hurry and get her piece of the triforce back from the darkness! If we keep waiting, it will be too late." said Din, looking at the others with a concerned look.

"We can't just go into the enemy's territory, we need a plan." Nayru seemed serious.

"We can't waste anymore time" said Din. "After all of the stupid brat's adventures-"

"Hey!" screamed Farore. "Don't call him a stupid brat! He has a name, you know?"

Din sighed. "Anyway, as I was saying, after all of 'Link's adventure, we gained more power and the Darkness became weaker. This is our chance to get Zilia's piece of the triforce out of the Darkness and to save Zilia from dying."

"Well, what are we waiting for then, let's go!" Farore turned around and started to run away from the other goddesses. Din followed, but she suddenly stopped when she heard Nayru's voice.

"Wait! Stop!" Din caught up to Farore and grabbed her by the collar of her dress.

"What now Nayru? We have to hurry, you know that!" said Din.

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't go" answered Nayru. "But as I said before, if we don't want to get killed we need a plan!"

"Let…me…go!" Din turned around and realized that she was still holding Farore by the collar of her dress. She realized that Farore's face was as red as her own dress because of the lack of breath. Din let go of Farore and they both turned around to hear what Nayru had to say.

"Here is the plan: after the 7 years of Link's adventures, the Darkness is finally weak enough for us to get back what is ours, Zilia's piece of the Triforce. Tonight we will leave the Goddess's temple, and we will travel to the Darkness. Din, you will be in charge of distracting Kirnon and his army. You are the Goddess of Power, I'm sure that you can handle it. Farore, you will be in charge of finding and taking Zilia's piece of the Triforce back, while I will take care of getting us back safely to here. Once we get back, we shall put the middle piece of the Triforce back to its original place so that Zilia will be fine again. Finally, after 7 years, we are going to put an end to all of this suffering. What do you think of this plan?"

"Sounds fine to me" said Din, smiling confidently."Perfect, as usual" Farore grinned at Nayru. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

It was a really hot day, one of the hottest of the season. The village seemed empty as its inhabitants were hiding in their houses, far away from the sun. It was one of those days in which all you wanted to do is rest, forgetting about your duties and responsibilities. Not a single sound could be heard.

"LINK!"

A voice suddenly pierced through the air, interrupting the silence of the village. Hearing his own name being called, the teenager looked around, hoping to find the source of the scream.

"LINK!"

Understanding that this was urgent, the blonde decided to put down his fishing rod and got up, jogging back to the center of the village to have a better view of the situation. Finally, a small figure approached him, running at full speed. A sigh escaped from the blonde teen, as he realized who had been calling him.

"Hey Talo."

The wide green eyes of the child were looking straight at Link. He couldn't say he was happy, all he wanted to was to laze around all day long.

"Hello Link!"

"So… Why did you call me? Do you need something?"

"Actually…" The little boy looked down nervously. "I need to tell you something important." Talo suddenly started blushing.

Link raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Sure, tell me."

"I…um…I.." Talo started playing with his red hairband. He always did that when he was nervous.

"I love you, Link" The face of the little boy was now so red that it seemed to be burning.

Link smirked, not quite understanding what he had just heard. It was weird for Talo to say something like this, as he usually acted like a tough guy and refused to show his emotions.

"I love you too, I guess."

Talo didn't seem satisfied with Link's answer.

"No, no, you don't understand. I consider you… to be more than a friend…"

Linked blinked twice, not understanding. Did he hear well? Was he becoming deaf?

"Sorry… what?"

"I love you, Link. I really do. Would you be my boyfriend?"

The blonde was speechless. He did not expect something like this to happen, so he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to hurt the boy's feelings, but he couldn't pretend that he felt the same way. Before Link could answer, a noisy giggle coming from the bushes nearby surprised him.

"Oh my Goddesses! That was precious!" Malo ran out from where he was hiding, still laughing.

More confused than ever, Link stared at him, hoping to get an explanation from the children. It was only when he saw Talo's expression that he understood what was happening. It was all just another one of their evil pranks, specifically designed to interrupt what he had planned to be a lazy day.

"You…" he gritted his teeth, ready to teach them a lesson about leaving lazy people alone.

Just then, Malo grabbed Talo's arm and pulled him away, running up the hill as fast as they could.

Link began to chase them and he quickly caught up with the two boys. After all, running after kids was easy to handle. It was not like the time when he got chased by the Stallord in Arbiter's ground. This time, he had a big advantage: no one was trying to kill him.

All of a sudden, a strong pain from his hand made him stop in his tracks. His left hand seemed paralyze. He held it tight to his chest, feeling the pain slowly spreading throughout his body. Link was trying to understand what was happening, he was sure he had experienced this before. He gritted his teeth, holding himself from screaming. By now his body was completely unable to move, and he had fallen onto the ground. He knew that the two kids were too far away to help him, and no one else was in sight.

He was too ashamed to shout for help. The Hero of Time wasn't supposed to cry like a baby.

His head was spinning and his vision blurred, and for some reason his lungs weren't inhaling enough oxygen.

He wasn't asking for that much. All he wanted was for the pain to go away, it was unbearable.

He was almost glad when darkness began closing in from the corner of his eyes.

_Why does it always have to be me?_

The darkness embraced Link, freeing him from his pain.


End file.
